CAMPUS LIFE DIRECTORS PROVIDE
SAFE SPACE FOR HERMISTON TEENS >> PAGE A7 AND A11
Wednesday, March 6, 2019
HermistonHerald.com
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INSIDE
RARE DISEASE
A Hermiston family cele-
brates Rare Disease Day to
highlight the difficulties
patients face.
PAGE A3
GRAND OPENING
HuNdReD HeArTs PrOjEcT
cOmInG tO HeRmIsToN
The Maxwell Siding Pavil-
ion, future home of the
farmer’s market, hosts its
first event Friday.
PAGE A4
TAMALE TIME
The owners of Tacos Xavi
open a new Mexican
restaurant in Hermiston.
PAGE A6
BY THE WAY
Polar plunge to
benefit animal
rescue
The snowy weather
ruined our plans to cover
Highland Hills Elemen-
tary School’s family night
last week, but we’re still
planning to spotlight the
school throughout the
month.
There were 476 stu-
dents attending Highland
Hills as of Feb. 25, with
45 classified and teaching
staff. Jake Bacon serves
as the school’s principal.
The school opened
its doors in 1980, and its
first principal was named
Henry Trump. Its mascot
is the Huskies.
Bacon said Highland
Hills used to have large
circles decorating the sides
of the school. Teachers
would write encouraging
statements in the circles
and advice for problem
solving. The current staff
at Highland Hills are plan-
ning to bring that practice
back soon.
See this week’s Herm-
iston History, page A2, to
see what Highland Hills
students were up to 25
years ago.
• • •
People are invited to
take a plunge to help Fuzz
Ball Animal Rescue.
The St. Pat’s Polar
Plunge is Saturday, March
See BTW, Page A6
contributed art by Jenny Loughmiller
Jenny Loughmiller painted these hearts for her daughter Anna.
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Photo contributed by Jenny Loughmiller
The paintings that will be on display at Good Shepherd
Women’s Center this month are more than just decorations.
The art is the foundation of the Hundred Hearts Proj-
ect, created by a former Hermiston resident who hopes to
inspire acts of gratitude in others.
It started in 2016, when Jenny Loughmiller was bat-
tling severe depression.
“I just felt like my heart was like a sieve,” she said. “I
couldn’t hold love in it and I couldn’t give from it.”
As she struggled against feelings that her life was fall-
ing apart, she knew she needed a project to re-focus on
positive things. She decided to create a list of 100 women
she was grateful for and paint a unique heart representing
each one, accompanied by a note about the person.
At first, Loughmiller said, she experienced feelings
of gratitude for the woman for whom she was creating
Jenny Loughmiller is bringing the Hundred Hearts Project to
Hermiston.
See Hearts, Page A10
Assisted living residents on brink of losing Medicaid benefits
By KATHY ANEY
STAFF WRITER
8
08805 93294
2
Jeanne Rhome trembled as she
gazed at the notice clutched in her
hand.
The letter from the Oregon
Department of Human Services
had come two weeks earlier with
dire news for Rhome. She would
no longer receive the Medicaid
payments that currently allow her
to live at the Sun Terrace assisted
living facility in Hermiston. Ben-
efits would cease Feb. 28.
The 63-year-old stroke and
heart attack survivor cried.
Rhome is not the only one to
receive this news. Others at Sun
Terrace and at facilities around
the state have been getting letters,
too, saying they no longer qualify
for long-term care services.
Down the hall, Pat Williams
got ready to move out. She no
longer fits the criteria according
to her notice. Williams has lived
at Sun Terrace for three years.
Her family pushed her to move
into the facility as her health
worsened.
“I knew it was coming — there
were rumors,” Williams said of
the notice. “But it was still a shock
when they told me I had to leave.”
The 74-year-old, who uses a
walker, looked for apartments,
but last week said she had found
nothing for seniors.
“I don’t know where everyone
is going to go,” she said. “There’s
nothing out there.”
See Medicaid, Page A10
staff photo by e.J. harris
Jeanne Rhome, a 63-year-old stroke and heart attack survivor, will stop receiving
the Medicaid payments that currently allow her to live at the Sun Terrace assisted
living facility in Hermiston.